Nokia Music Mix Party Turns Everyone Into a DJ

Nokia Music and Microsoft's Internet Explorer have partnered turn anyone with an Xbox 360 and a smartphone into a guest DJ.

0shares

Sick of your friend always setting the July 4 barbecue soundtrack to Barry Manilow and show tunes? The days of"Copacabana" over hamburgers are over: Nokia Music and Microsoft's Internet Explorer have partnered turn you into a guest DJ.

All you need is an Xbox 360 console, any Apple, Android, or Windows smartphone, and decent taste in music.

Nokia Music Mix Party launched today, allowing multiple people at an event to sync their smartphone to the party playlist via an on-screen QR code, then vote on tracks they want to hear next. Watch your phone as each song's tally climbs, then try to convince your friends to vote for your favorite tune next.

In the spirit of patriotism, the service will remain free to all users through the month of July; after that, users can sign up via Nokia Music to continue mixing up the party.

"This is not necessarily the next something out there in music," an IE spokesman said during a recent demo. "It's merely showing off with the browser and the TV on a separate system. You don't have to download anything, don't have to install anything. It is literally using the power of Web."

Regardless of whether you're using a Windows Phone, an iPhone, or an Android phone, all you need is a modern Web browser on your device, and you can connect to a Mix Party playlist. (Of course, you'll also want a Microsoft Xbox 360, plus a Xbox Live Gold membership.)

"So this holiday, celebrate your independence by exercising your freedom to listen to music that you want to hear," the IE team wrote in a blog post. "Power up Nokia Music Mix Party, and remember, there's nothing more American than telling someone with your vote their song selection could be improved."

The service is currently available in 28 countries across Europe, Latin America, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland. She interned at Baltimore magazine and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (in the town of Indiana, in the state of Pennsylvania) with a degree in journalism and mass communications.
More »

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service